It was a close season of evolution for Superleague with the introduction of 16 new teams and a whole new Division. It was also a season of change at the top as the league had a 3-month mid season break as the SL hierarchy changed.

Martin Aspel, the founding father of the game, found a variety of personal circumstances taking up his time and was replaced by Dale Allitt who had come in as top man at Waltham, engineered some mega deals then found himself joining Dave Hood as one of the deadly duo in charge.

However, it was the close season of the big spender for the existing clubs as over £3.5 million changed hands in transfer deals. Principle among these was the £517,766 paid by Swanage Swans to secure the services of SLRC winner Lee Jarman.

Swans recouped some of that massive fee by selling Jan Steensgard to SL new boys Peterborough while Waltham Abbey snapped up highly rated Swede Patrik Lindberg (£281,000) and Jens Torre joined Bournemouth for £235,000.

The Jarman deal is the new World record smashing the £240,000 that Houston paid for double World Champion Jan Kirsten a year ago. Kirsten added his third consecutive crown in 2003 and what his value is in light of the Jarman fee is anyone’s guess.

There were also the usual team changes with 6 teams relocating and one changing their nickname. Southend became the Sorcerers rather than the Octopi while Kidlington moved to Sheffield but kept the Krusaders nickname. Wombourne, similarly, moved to Wilmington and kept their Warriors nickname.

Great Yarmouth relocated to Canvey Island and Ipswich Spitfires became Birmingham City Slickers. The gap in Suffolk was immediately filled by the Ipswich Tornados as the Welsh capital lost their Cardiff Devils side. The final change was the end of Broom Bears and the introduction of Bury Braves.

March

With the 33% increase in riders British Quarter Finals kick off the season mid month. The four rounds see plenty of big names, including 2001 World Finalists Scott Atkins (Aisha’s) and Jack Uings (Wisbech Warriors), fall at the first hurdle.

Glenrothes Gladiators Jason Cross posts notice that Division 2 has some real quality by winning his round while Lee Jarman gets lucky in his quarter final. The world record signing looked to be crashing out until Greg Goss slid off in heat 19 handing Jarman the final qualifying place.

The semi finals, a week later, aren’t much better for him as he again scrapes through in the last qualifying place. Add in a 3 point return in his home debut for Swanage and the press is already asking ‘Is Jarman a waste of money?’ Only time will tell.

Yeovil pair Craig Kimble and Carl Cash make the Coalville semi their own while Eoin Williamson takes the other round at Canvey. But there are some big shocks as Huntingdon’s Darren Edwards (2001 SL Riders Champion, 2002 Division 1Riders Champion and 2002 World Finalist), Swanage’s Luke Mills, Yeovil’s Michael Munns and Waltham Abbey’s Rob Gamble fail to make the cut.

Meanwhile, Cane Richardson (Waltham) and Carson Black swap their 2003 finishing positions on the Australian podium as the former takes the crown. Tipton’s Mark Sayers and Peter O’Brien of Bournemouth, 2001 and 2002 World finalist, are surprise casualties. The New Zealand/South African final sees an all Kiwi top three as Cumbernauld’s Rory McMillan takes the laurels, World Under 21 champ Leigh Langley (Huntingdon) takes second with the 2002 and 2003 winner, Deon Standish (Seaton), in third.

The Australasian Final sees some big names crash out but with only 5 places up for grabs and so many stars in the event this is no real shock although Carson Black failing to challenge has to be noted. Langley takes the title with McMillan pipping Richardson for the second step on the podium. Tipton’s Lee Peron and Long Eaton’s Sy Parrish take the other two available slots.

The USA qualification process also got underway but there were no shocks as all the big guns progress to the Final at Long Beach in May.

The WWLS gets underway but has changed format. Now 8 teams meet each other home and away in a league format rather than 12 teams in 3 four team tournament style groups. Sydney Sharks start the defence of their title with an away draw at Lonigo.

In the leagues there have only been 2 matches per side in each division and it’s too early to tell much but there are some heavy defeats being handed out at all levels.

Of more note are individual performances. Per Nimni of Huntingdon (first full max of the season) and Mark Olsen of Waltham (first paid max of the season the previous evening) are flying in the SL. Lee Peron has taken to the top flight like a duck to water but some other former Division 1 heat leaders seem to have taken to the step up in class more like a brick to water.

Division 1 has seen a raft of riders put in a couple of good performances with Bury Braves’ 30 year old Finn Harri Lahti the pick of the bunch.

British Finalists Jason Cross (Glenrothes Gladiators) and Richard Webb (Dover Titans) are flying the flag for Division 2 and are sure to attract attention from higher leagues. In the same boat are likely to be a host of other names but most prominently Rene Hansen of Rivendell Nomads and Wolverhampton’s Martin Cole who also boast CMA’s of over 10.

April

The month starts badly for Houston and Whitley as they both suffer major injuries. Pirates’ big money winter signing Mark Parmar breaks his ankle when hit by a team mate’s bike while Racers Robert Kelen breaks his right arm and his right leg as he loses control when trying a passing manoeuvre. Parmar will miss 6 week with Kelen missing a full 3 months.

The World title trail continues with the 4 Continental Quarter Finals being raced. Lots of shocks ensue with the biggest being former World Finalist Tomas Gabovka crashing out after blowing 3 engines in the one night. Other notables included Matthias Korsten and Pawel Sawiliczek.

On the international front England held a 1-0 series lead over Italy after a 48-42 win at The Chapelfields of Coventry Haze.

Super League saw Waltham Abbey and Yeovil on 10 points from 6 while Huntingdon and Boston were close behind. The 5 promoted sides (Tipton, Peterborough, Tayside, Seaton and Southend) had mixed fortunes as Tipton were 6^th and Seaton were just above the play off zone while the remainder were already in the relegation places.

Division One’s early pacesetters were Bury Braves who were the only unbeaten team out of the 48 who started the campaign. Bournemouth and Birmingham were both chasing hard but it was Whitley, Canvey and Coalville who were making heavy weather of the season with only 1 win each to their name.

Rivendell Nomads led Division 2 where 4 points separated the top 12 teams with Essex Gunners the back markers with a solitary victory to their name.

May

May, as usual saw the various competitions get into full swing and the transfer market re-opening.

However, the major talking point was World Champion Jan Kirsten’s fall out with the Houston promotion. The champ ended up being loaned to Division 1 Ipswich before demanding a transfer which was granted. This led to a veritable merry-go-round of deals with Waltham Abbey right at the hub of it all.

Firstly Lee Jarman, Swanage’s World record signing only 6 weeks earlier joined the Hoods for £420,000 with Mark Olsen heading to the South Coast on loan. However, when Kirsten became available everything went into overdrive.

Kirsten left for Waltham with Jarman heading to Houston. Jarman had the strange experience of making his debut and farewell performance in the same evening for Waltham, even stranger was that the match was against Houston, the club he was joining! Meanwhile Hoods sold Olsen to Swanage for £268,000 and at the same time offloaded Rob Gamble and £60,000 to Walsall for Per Erlingmark.

On the international front England completed a 3-0 whitewash of the Italians while Scotland went down to 2 heavy defeats at the wheels of the Poles.

The World Championship became clearer too with the Nordic, Swedish and Danish titles being decided early in the month. Oslo (WWLS) star Lars Stendahl takes the Nordic title while Per Nimni and Rune Oscarssen fail to make the cut.  Jan Kirsten (Houston, at that time) saw his chances of a fourth successive Danish title disappear as another WWLS rider Bo Larsen (Vojens) took the title from Boston’s Peter Andersen after a run off. Meanwhile, Magnus Karlsson (Houston) took the Swedish title for the third season running.

The American and British titles were also decided with Costa Mesa’s Brad Simpson being the best in the USA while Billy Hicks and Josh Oxley crashed out. Jamie Jackson lifted the British title and was promptly recalled from Bexwell to Houston as the Jan Kirsten affair came to a head. Richard Webb did Division 2 proud with the runners up spot while Lee Jarman took third.

The World U21’s kicked off too with the shock free Quarter Finals early in the month and the semi finals right at the end. Jamie Jackson and Jan Kirsten were the winners and, as expected Danny Capirossi, Leigh Langley and Mark Olsen coasted through. Jensen Sneider was the main shock exit but good news for Division 2 promoters as a handful of their riders, most notably Ian Harding, made the last 16.

The first round of the KOC got under way with all the Division 1 and 2 sides battling for the right to join the SL sides seeded to round 2. Division 1 sides dominated their lower league opponents with the exception of Wilmington who crashed out to Dover Titans.

The WWLS was beginning to take shape too with Auckland 3 points clear at the top having raced 4 matches. Their nearest rivals, Lonigo and Gothenburg, had only raced 2 matches each.

The YDL qualifiers had finished with each club racing 4 matches and Group A of the final is to be contested by 3 of last season’s top 4 in Houston, Huntingdon and Wisbech. Southend complete the quartet.

With all of this going on there was only room for 1 league match in May which saw very little change to any of the tables.

June

A month which saw league matches dominate and the definition of the championship fights become clearer.

In SL Waltham Abbey continued with their rampaging start to the campaign with 4 more wins, 2 at home and 2 away to put themselves 5 clear of Huntingdon.

At the other end Tayside were struggling with Wisbech, London and Houston occupying the other 3 relegation berths.

In Division one there was no 5 point gap. In fact, 5 points covered the top 7 in the table. Bournemouth was top with Walsall, Bexwell and Cradley in the promotion slots ahead of the chasing pack. Bottom spot was occupied by Wilmington.

Division 2 saw Rivendell 2 clear from London Spartans with Harringay and Tennyson in the vital top 4 spots. Poole and Bristol were languishing at the bottom. However, two of the new managers had already deserted their teams indicating all was not well in the lower reaches.

Only 2 WWLS matches which saw Lonigo lose at Berlin before winning at Costa Mesa which saw the Italian club close to within a point of leaders Auckland.

Scotland also took part in 3 test matches. They won the final match against Poland to prevent the whitewash before going down 47-43 twice to Norway.

On the transfer front the Waltham/Swanage go round started up again with Patrik Lindberg and £60,000 going to Swanage and Luke Mills going in the other direction.

July

Scotland completes the series against Norway in the same way as the series against the Poles, by winning to prevent a 3-0 whitewash.

Two more league matches are completed in each Division as Waltham maintain their 5 point lead over Huntingdon while the same 4 teams stay in the relegation mire.

Division 1 sees Walsall take over the lead from Bexwell on points difference but there are only 3 points separating the top 6.

Meanwhile Rivendell extend their lead to 4 at the top of the fledgling division 2. Below that only 4 points separate 2^nd from 11^th in what is shaping up to be a very tight league.

Matches come to a halt mid way through the month which leads to the 3 month hiatus detailed at the top of the article.

October

It’s with a renewed sense of vigour that season 4 gets back underway in Superleague although some promoters have fallen by the wayside. Waltham is now under league control since Dale Allitt stepped into the breach at HQ while Bournemouth are rudderless (some say they always were) in Division 1. Ottawa, Shelley Close and Tennyson are also run by the league. This leaves 5 clubs of the 16 new teams now facing certain closure at the end of their inaugural season.

On the transfer front there is one last chance for the Waltham/Swanage go round to spin again as Luke Mills ends a short stay with the Hoods and returns to Swanage. Meanwhile, Mark Olsen and £55,000 head back to Essex.

Despite starting mid month a lot was crammed in with 2 league matches, the big boys joining in the KOC fray, the fourth round of the World title trail and England completing a 3 match series against the rest of the World and losing 2-1.

At the halfway point in SL Waltham had extended their lead to 7 points over Huntingdon and are counted as everyone’s favourite for the title. Boston, Aisha’s Motor and Yeovil were close behind with the rest bunched up. Tayside with only 4 points were looking relegation certainties.

Division 1 saw Bexwell 3 points clear but the next 4 (Walsall, Cradley, Bournemouth and Birmingham) are only separated by 1 point. Witham and Wilmington are starting to slip behind at the foot of the table with Canvey and Sheffield also in relegation trouble.

Rivendell continue to head the pack in Division Two but London Spartans have cut the lead back to 2. Harringay are two points back and Titirangi a further 1 but it’s so close that second bottom Meir are only 5 points off of a promotion place.

The second round of the KOC kicks off with the result of the round being Bury of Division 1 winning by 10 at SL Seaton. Cumbernauld fail to show up at Bournemouth giving themselves no chance in the second leg.

The World Championship Continental Semi Finals are won by Sheffield’s Andrzej Karasinski and Southend’s Dino Mazzerati as the big guns cruise through. Waltham’s Per Erlingmark picks up the Scandinavian title as there are, again, no shock exits. Swanage’s Patrik Lindberg goes out but only as a result of hurting his ankle during the meeting.

The Overseas Final provides an English 1, 2, 3 as Houston pairing Jamie Jackson and Lee Jarman take the top places with Yeovil’s Craig Kimble taking the final rostrum step. Waltham’s American star Mark Olsen surprisingly misses out on qualification as does Dover’s Richard Webb.

November

The World Team Cup takes place in the first week and its joy all round Britain as England battle surprise finalists Scotland in the final.

England, with Jarman at reserve has a powerful looking 7 as they demolish Sweden, Croatia and Norway in the group matches. The Czech Republic is swept aside in the quarters with Jarman again piling up the points at reserve before facing Italy at Coventry.

The match goes to the last heat with England leading by 2 but an engine failure for Capirossi takes the pressure off and it’s England in the final.

Meanwhile, Scotland hammers Austria before sneaking past both Italy and the USA. Poland await the Scots in the quarters and it goes to the wire before Simon Ross of Division 2 Dover and Glasgow Sharks’ Darren Orr take a last heat 4-2 to send the Scots to the semi finals in Paisley where the mighty Danes await.

However, the Danes are a two man team and it takes a 5-1 from Jan Kirsten and Bo Larsen to keep them in it after heat 13. Denmark’s big two are out in the last race and it takes a superb exhibition of team riding by Peterborough’s Jamie Simmons and that man Ross to keep Larsen at the back.

The final hinged on a controversial heat 8. The Scots started well with a 5-1 in heat 1 and were all square with the Lions going into heat 8 but that's where it all went wrong for them. In the first running Paul Augustine hit the fence whilst challenging Lee Jarman but was saved from injury thanks to the Waltham air fence but he was excluded. Then, in the re-run, it was Eoin Williamson who had the lead when he appeared to be hit by Lee Jarman causing the young Scot to fall. The referee was having none of it and allowed the race to continue, resulting in a 5-0 to England. From this point on England never looked back and ran out winners by 7 points.

The second phase of YDL has reached the halfway point and it’s Houston just leading the 4TT style group from reigning champs Huntingdon with Southend and Wisbech trailing.

The Fours and Pairs are also decided with Waltham taking both titles. Houston take them to a run off for the Pairs but Kirsten beats Jackson to ensure glory before he goes through the card in the Fours final. Cane Richardson wins 11 of his 12 races throughout the tournament with only Kim Sorensen of Bexwell defeating him in heat 6 of the final.

Round 2 of the KOC completes with Bury finishing off Seaton and Division 2 Coventry Haze lowering the colours of Division 1 side Canvey. Bournemouth and Cumbernauld don’t meet again as Cumbernauld fail to show again and lose the tie 150-0 on aggregate. Cumbernauld are withdrawn from the league with HQ taking over the reigns. Bournemouth also withdraw to be run by HQ.

Only 1 league match sees little change in any of the tables. However, some WWLS riders decide to try their luck in SL and it costs a combined total of £717,000 for the 3 available riders.

Tipton splash out £287,000 on 21 year old Icelandic star Marti Danielsson while Southend part with £260,000 to secure 20 year old American Lincoln Blair from Costa Mesa. Struggling Witham recruit Polish 24 year old Tomasz Kornicki for a fee of £170,000.

December

As most folk turn their thoughts towards Christmas the SL world has turned its attentions to the World title trail with the small matter of the World Under 21 final, the Inter Continental and Continental Finals and the World Final Eliminator.

Danny Capirossi of Aisha’s Motor takes the World Under 21 crown in fine style although the main talking point is heat 3 when Leigh Langley and Jan Kirsten clash with Kirsten retiring with a shed chain. Kirsten ended in 9^th after having to switch to his second bike. Ian Harding of Titirangi Breakers takes second spot with Houston’s Jamie Jackson in third.

Kirsten makes up for his poor showing in the World U21 by taking the Inter Continental final from Marcus Gustafsson of Swanage and Per Erlingmark who has moved from Waltham to Glasgow. But, as expected at this stage, riders like world number 3 Leigh Langley, Craig Kimble, Lee Jarman, Cane Richardson and Bo Larsen all miss out on direct qualification and go into the eliminator.

The Continental final is missing Danny Capirossi who has been seeded direct to the final following his U21 triumph and this allows team mate Jensen Sneider to take the honours. Riders such as Markus Elts and Filipo Rossi have to try the last chance saloon that is the Eliminator.

After a tremendous meeting Huntingdon’s Kiwi star Leigh Langley wins the Eliminator meeting and is joined in the final by Piotr Polneczyck of Bexwell and Markus Elts of Berlin. Big names had to go out and they did, world number 3 Craig Kimble crashed out after 4 poor rides before a win when the pressure was off. Lee Jarman also misses out after blowing his motor in heat 16. Cane Richardson was left cursing his luck after falling when in a clear first place in heat 4, while Bo Larsen also missed out like Richardson by just one point.

The third round of the KOC was completed with Yeovil knocking out the high flying Waltham and Coventry again disposing of Division 1 opposition in the form of Whitley. The last 8 is dominated by SL clubs with Coventry the only representatives from out with the top flight.

Approaching the two thirds complete stage the league tables have a familiar look about them with Waltham still clear at the top of SL with Tayside adrift at the bottom, Bexwell and Titirangi continue to lead the way in Divisions 1 and 2. However, the shape of the tables are similar throughout the three divisions with two or three clear at the top with a large following pack behind and 3 or 4 teams trailing.

 
January

Waltham hit average difficulties and offloads World Champion Jan Kirsten to London Jaguars in exchange for Billy Hicks and Carson Black. It’s Kirsten’s fourth club of the season after starting at Houston before being loaned briefly to Ipswich. He joins the 13^th place club who are embroiled in a relegation battle some 5 points behind the safe 11^th spot.

The WWLS is reaching the latter stages with Auckland only 2 points clear of Vojens and Oslo who both have 2 matches in hand.

However, it’s mostly league matches to occupy everyone and the big news is that Waltham are human after all. Maybe it was too much Christmas pudding but 3 straight defeats sees Huntingdon go 2 points clear at the top with Boston only 3 points back. Houston are at the head of the chasing pack 5 points further back in fourth. 4 points separates Houston from 11^th placed Evesham. London Jaguars and Wisbech are tied on points battling it out to avoid the final relegation slot while Tayside are doomed some 14 points behind safety with only 8 matches left. Managerless Cumbernauld and Seaton occupy the other drop zone places.

Bexwell stretch 4 points clear in Division 1 with Birmingham, Coalville and Walsall packed in behind. Again there are a lot of teams bunched closely together chasing the top clubs with Canvey, Managerless Glasgow, Witham and Wilmington in the relegation places.

Division 2 sees Rivendell still just clear of Titirangi but they aren’t too far clear of Dover, London Spartans and Coventry. The division is in serious trouble though as 7 of the 16 new promoters have given up and it’s possible that this could be the first and last season for Division 2.

 
February

World Final time again and it’s none other than London Jaguars’ Jan Kirsten who takes the title, for the fourth year running. A third place in his opening ride is followed by 4 imperious wins as he strolls to the top of the podium. Aisha’s Motor’s Danny Capirossi takes second for the second time, his third podium in 4 years, by defeating his Italian team mate Dino Mazzerati of Southend. The sole Brit, Jamie Jackson of Houston, finishes in 8^th place.

Jackson fared better earlier in the month when finishing runner up to Titirangi’s Ian Harding in the British Under 21 title. Boston’s Kenny Rodman took third.

The WWLS sees new leaders in Oslo who are 2 clear of Vojens and Auckland. Vojens have a match in hand but the rest of the sides are out of the title hunt.

The YDL is supposed to come to a conclusion but doesn’t as Houston and Huntingdon tie on 105 points forcing the clubs to race a decider for the title later in the season. Southend finish third with Wisbech last in group A. Elsewhere in YDL Wilmington seem to have unearthed a couple of gems in the form of 16 year olds Scott Parker and Mark Parkinson as they take top spot in Group D. London Jaguars top group B while Aisha’s Motor do the same in Group C.

In the KOC quarter finals a resurgent London, following the capture of World Champ Jan Kirsten, dispose of Houston, Southend see off Yeovil, Huntingdon beat Boston and Coventry see their glory run ended by Wisbech.

In the semi finals Huntingdon draw in Wisbech before winning the home leg and London make their third cup final in a row by edging past Southend.

In the league the big talking point is Division 1 Ipswich’s decision to field a team with a combined average of only 25. This was in response to a disagreement with HQ a couple of weeks previously and results in the Tornados crashing 71-18 at home to Bournemouth.

It doesn’t affect the Division 1 table too much as Bexwell Braves look set for SL racing as they race 7 points clear at the top. Walsall, Cradley and Coalville are grouped together in the promotion zone but are only just clear of Birmingham and Weymouth who, realistically, are the only clubs who are still in the promotion battle.

Bury and Long Eaton look safe mid table while Whitley, Bournemouth, Sheffield and Ipswich look over their shoulders at Witham, Glasgow Sharks, Witham and Wilmington who are closing rapidly.

Division 2 is a bit more clear-cut as Rivendell still hang on from Titirangi and Coventry. Dover, Essex, Harringay and Bristol look set to have a battle royal for the final promotion place.

Huntingdon can only win 1 of their 3 matches this month and allow Waltham, who have regained their form to go 3 points in front. Boston look set for third while Tayside are officially down, Cumbernauld look to be heading that way too and Seaton are in real danger.

March

With no less than 12 teams without managers for varying reasons HQ spring a surprise, and turn the whole season on its head, by announcing a radical league restructure for next season.

Division 2 isn’t to be scrapped, instead there will be a Division 3 and the league will switch to 4 divisions of 10 rather than 3 of 16. An overall reduction of 8 clubs. The upshot is that more than half of the remaining clubs are going to suffer relegation as HQ decision isn’t that the top 10 finishers go in SL, next 10 in Division 1, etc.

Instead, the top 7 in SL stay there with the top 3 in Division 1 being promoted. The 7 bottom SL clubs join the top 3 from Division 2 in the new Division 1. The remaining 10 in Division 1 are relegated to Division 2. The remaining 5 Division 2 clubs drop to Division 3 where they will be joined by new clubs.

As complex as that sounded it was to get a whole lot more intricate and baffling as the season ended as a couple of clubs without managers saw them return and some existing clubs decided to drop out.

In the end the formula above stood in the main but 7^th in SL, raced 4^th  and 5^th in Div 1 and 4^th in Div 2 in a 4TT style play off with the winner going to SL, second to Div 1, etc.

All in all it became overly complicated but it was a necessary evil to split the league into the 4 division structure and, hopefully, bring back the stability to clubs within the league. There was no easy way of going about it that wouldn’t have put someone’s nose out of joint but HQ made the difficult decision about how to restructure and followed it through.

However, no matter who agreed or disagreed about how the new structure was being decided no one could deny that it breathed a whole new interest into the end of season battle as the clubs who had all been bunched mid table, in each of the divisions, all of a sudden found themselves battling for their survival within their division. And, of course, there was the little matter of deciding where the title trophies were headed still to resolve.

Week 1

Vojens win at Sydney to top the WWLS table with only a couple of matches to go. HQ announce an end of season World Challenge Cup between the top 4 WWLS teams and 4 teams from Super League, although which 4 teams or how they qualify for the tournament isn’t revealed.

In Division 2 Titirangi go to long time leaders Rivendell and win to go top. Coventry take advantage to nip into second with Dover and Essex also pushing for the third and final promotion place.

In Division 1 all that really matters now is making the top 5. Bexwell are already assured of that and Walsall and Cradley are looking good for the other two positions for automatic promotion. Birmingham and Coalville are awaiting any slips to get into automatic promotion slots with Weymouth the only other club with chance of getting involved. The remaining clubs know they are dropping a division.

Waltham are 5 points clear of Huntingdon with Boston a further 4 behind that. Two points separate the next 6 sides and some of these will be relegated. The battle is on but London are still on a roll and despite being 13^th are only 7 behind 4^th. Seaton, Cumbernauld and Tayside are doomed.

Week 2

In Division 2 Rivendell beat Coventry and Essex beat Dover in 2 mega matches which will go a long way to deciding which division these teams will ride in next season. Titirangi win and stay top from Rivendell and Coventry. Essex occupy the play off spot but Harringay, Dover and London Spartans are close by waiting for a slip up.

Cradley and Birmingham lose their Division 1 fixtures while all about them win. Bexwell are assured of top flight speedway next season and Walsall are only a step away. Coalville have closed right in on Cradley with points difference all that is separating the sides.

SL sees Waltham win again to place one hand on the trophy while Huntingdon guarantee SL speedway next season. Boston announce they are closing and Houston ease some pressure with a vital away win at Wisbech.

Week 3

WWLS sees Oslo and Vojens tied at the top with only one match remaining. The race for third and fourth is wide open with 5 of the 6 remaining clubs in with a chance.

London Jaguars give themselves a chance of missing out on an infamous hat trick of runners up positions in the KOC by winning a hard fought final 1^st leg 47-42 against Huntingdon.

Division 2 becomes a lot clearer as Titirangi race to within 1 point of the title and have already guaranteed promotion to Division 1. Rivendell and Coventry move 3 clear of Dover and Essex.

Bexwell and Walsall are still clear in Division 1 but it’s anyone’s guess as to who’ll take that third promotion slot, which 2 clubs will be in the play off and who’ll be the unlucky 6^th placed club that drop to Division 2. Coalville currently sit third on 44 with Cradley (43), Birmingham (42) and Weymouth (41) following.

Waltham are assured of the SL title without turning a wheel as Huntingdon lose at Swanage. Houston defeat Southend to edge away from the mad scramble for survival while London just keep on winning and are now only 2 from safety. Fifth to eleventh is covered by 4 points but Evesham and Wisbech are going down to Division 1. It’s now 7 teams into 4 SL places and a play off place.

Week 4

WWLS almost reaches its conclusion as Oslo complete their fixtures with 14 points with a crucial victory at Costa Mesa. Vojens are two adrift with one to play and know they must travel to Costa Mesa and win by 6 points to be champions. Failure to do this will give Oslo the crown.

The London Jaguars bandwagon keeps gathering pace as they go to Huntingdon and win 47-43 to take the KOC for the first time. The inspirational Jan Kirsten is the reason cited by many for their return to form.

Division 2 is over as Titirangi take the title with Coventry now guaranteed promotion too. Long time leaders Rivendell face Meir knowing that the bonus point may not be enough if Essex have a, minimum, 6 point victory. The only hurdle facing the Gunners is a trip to newly crowned champions Titirangi. London Spartans, Harringay and Dover still have the chance to take the play off spot if Essex slip up.

Division 1 sees Walsall guarantee their place at the top table next season as they close to within 2 of Bexwell at the top. Walsall can sneak the title if they win at home against Bournemouth while Bexwell fail to get at least a draw at Witham.

Houston barge past Boston into third place in SL and are only the second club to ensure they remain in the top flight. Huntingdon are the other side as champions Waltham and 4^th place Boston are folding at the end of the campaign. Yeovil in 5^th have 40 points while Southend in 11^th are in with a chance of survival if results go their way.

Week 5

Auckland win in Gothenburg to ensure a top 4 finish in the WWLS. Sydney defeat Lonigo to go fourth but Gothenburg, the only other club who can make the top 4, can overhaul them if they win their final match.

Division 2 completes its inaugural season as Rivendell crush Meir to ensure promotion. Essex lose at Titirangi but are mighty relieved to hang onto the play off spot as Dover only beat Shelley Close by 6. A win by 10 more points would have seen them edge into fourth. Harringay and London Spartans both lose but take the bonus when victories would have seen either of them take that vital place.

Walsall put the pressure on Bexwell at the top of Division 1 with a win but the Braves take a last heat 3-3 at Witham to take the title. Coalville win at Weymouth to seal a Super League berth and also ensure Birmingham and Cradley go into the play off.

With the title decided all eyes are on who will survive in the SL and with 3 points separating 7 clubs vying for the 4 SL places it is a week of turmoil.

London win at Wisbech to complete a remarkable fight back from relegation favourites to confirmed SL starters next season and Peterborough hammer Southend, to send the Sorcerers down to Division 1, before Yeovil defeat Aisha’s Motor ensuring SL speedway at Yeovil. However, Aisha’s finish on 40 points with a point difference of +26.

Huntingdon finish with a flourish and win at Tipton while Swanage win by 24 points at home to Seaton and finish with 40 points and a points difference of +27 pushing Aisha’s into the play off place and relegating Tipton.

April

It’s the end of season frenzy of Divisional Cups, Riders championships not to mention an YDL decider. However, the big one is right at the start of the month, the one off play off which will finalise the new structure for next season.

SL class tells as Aisha’s Motor storm to victory to retain their place while Birmingham retain their Division 1 status. Its disappointment for Cradley who drop to Division 2 and it should be disappointment too for Essex who finish last and should be in Division 3. However, a couple of last minute pull outs from the league by promoters mean that Essex go up to Division 2 as do Dover who just missed out on the play off place.

The WWLS champions are confirmed as Oslo after Vojens could only draw in Costa Mesa. Lonigo and Gothenburg draw ensuring Sydney’s place in the new World Club Championship where the top 4 in the WWLS face 4 clubs from Superleague.

However, it’s not, as many suspected, the cup winners plus the top 3 league clubs from Superleague who make up the representatives but the league champions Waltham, cup winners London, division 1 winners Bexwell and Division 2 winners Titirangi who get the nod.

SL sides London and Waltham sweep past Auckland and Sydney while the lower league sides put up a decent show before crashing out.

Both semi finals are upsets as London continue their superb end to the season by disposing of WWLS top dogs Oslo while Waltham go out to Vojens. The inaugural WCC Final goes to the wire but a heat 14 5-1 edges Vojens in front and a last race share sees the title head to Denmark.

The YDL is decided too with a 7 heat match at Coventry and it’s Houston who are quick off the blocks in the first few heats to take the title. Huntingdon finish runners up for the second time in 3 seasons.

Super Saturday rolls round as all 5 riders championships are decided. At Paisley Wilmington’s starlet Mark Parkinson takes an easy win while Michal Molnar storms to victory in the WWLS Riders Championship.

At Coventry Meir’s Soren Sundberg take the Division 2 title from Dover’s Simon Ross and Poole’s Eddie Millard while Cradley’s American sensation Ben Preistley is triumphant in the Division 1 version. Scott McKeen (Coalville) and Emil Tillstrom (Bournemouth) complete the podium.

The SLRC sees Cane Richardson of Waltham take the crown and show prospective new club’s just what he has to offer. Seaton’s Mark Fossitt is a surprise runner up from Swanage’s Patrik Lindberg.

The final week of the season sees the cups reach their conclusion with Titirangi defeating Dover and Essex edging past Coventry to set up an intriguing Division 2 final. Titirangi triumph to complete the league and cup double when Ian Harding takes the chequered flag in a decisive heat 15.

Walsall and Wilmington defeat Cradley and Weymouth to set up, what appears to be, a mismatched final with the SL bound Swifts facing the Division 2 bound Warriors. However, it’s all square after 15 races and it takes a run off victory by Rob Gamble, over Jonas Jonsson, to send the cup to Walsall’s Bescot Stadium.

The SL version is equally as close as Peterborough and Boston (victors over Yeovil and Seaton in the semis) have to go to a run off too. Flyers’ Jesper Kroger uses all of his experience to defeat Boston’s Kenny Rodman to seal Peterborough’s first ever trophy.

The traditional SL Select v Division 1 select is replaced by SL v Div 1/Div 2 select but the result is the same as the big boys storm to a comprehensive 60-30 victory.

The Anglo Scottish Cup sees the two World Team Cup finalists face up again and Scotland gain some revenge by taking the first leg 49-41, their first victory in 6 attempts. However, the Lions overturn the deficit to take the trophy for the third time in three attempts.

The season, and the Waltham franchise, is brought to a close with the Steve Hogson Memorial Trophy second leg. Bexwell had triumphed 49-40 over their illustrious SL opponents in the first leg but the Hoods show their class with a 52-38 victory to take their 4^th trophy of the campaign.

Again, great thanks to George Seymour (Houston Pirates) for writing this review.